


Bonding over Grilling

by AJenno



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Bonding, Derek Hale Gets Therapy, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Eternal Sterek, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Bad At Titles, M/M, Stilinski Family Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-19
Updated: 2018-09-19
Packaged: 2019-07-14 03:54:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16032443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AJenno/pseuds/AJenno
Summary: I suck at summaries lol. Derek Hale and the Sheriff bonding over grill time. Also there's Stiles and a puppy.





	Bonding over Grilling

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Smowkie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smowkie/gifts).



> This was written as a birthday gift for the amazing Smowkie yay!! I hope you like it and thank you Rieraclaelin for your advice on this. It's greatly appreciated.

“Derek?”

Derek snapped out of it, looking over at a smiling Sheriff Stilinski. “Sheriff?”

“Derek, I’ve told you what you can call me.”

Derek smiled too. “Old habits die hard.” He explained before looking over at Stiles again, who was playing with their new puppy, which Stiles had found abandoned near the police station after visiting his dad for lunch one day. The Sheriff chuckled and Derek blinked, looking over at him again. “Shit, I zoned out again, didn’t I?”

“You did, but you tend to do that when looking at my son. It still surprises me to think of how far the two of you have come in the past few years, how much you have both changed together. I saw the signs in Stiles but I never thought…” He trailed off and Derek picked up on what the Sheriff was trying to say. 

“Never thought your son would end up in a long term relationship with a man?”

“Yes.” The Sheriff answered honestly but continued before Derek could say something else. “He joked about it before, but I always took it as just a joke. When I realized he was serious, that he liked men and women, it took me a minute to reply.”

Derek looked to Stiles again, who was laughing as he laid on the ground, the puppy bathing him in kisses. “But you responded well. I had offered to come with him, to tell you, but he refused, said he needed to do it on his own. We had watched a few coming out stories, read articles. And I think the more he read, the more he worried. But you understood.”

The Sheriff smiled again. “He’s my son. I’m going to love him no matter what. And it doesn’t matter who he loves as long as they treat him right.”

“Do I treat him right, Sheriff?”

“Yes.” The Sheriff said without hesitation again. “Yes Derek, you do, more than you realize.” At Derek’s surprise, the Sheriff continued. “You love my son more than any human has the capacity to, and it amazes me to see that love every time the two of you are together.”

Derek cleared his throat, feeling emotions clogging it. “Yes well, Stiles is amazing.”

“Yes he is. Let’s change the subject while we get the food on the grill. That was the original reason I was trying to get your attention by the way.”

Derek flushed with embarrassment but the Sheriff simply clapped him on the shoulder and together they went in to get the food to put on the grill. “I’m obligated as Stiles’ significant other, that if you bought anything other than lean meat to cook and eat, to take it away from you.”

The Sheriff rolled his eyes. “I can take care of myself and I do actually listen to my son. Everything we’re grilling is lean and will taste good too. Thank you very much.” He muttered, making Derek chuckle. As they took the plate of food out to the grill again, the Sheriff looked to Stiles, who was now trying to teach the puppy to sit. “Stiles told me your therapy is going well?”

Derek tensed for a moment before he relaxed again. Talking about therapy had made him edgy before, as if something was wrong and broken with him. Some months ago, Stiles and he had watched a movie together that dealt heavily with past abuse and therapy. When Stiles had casually asked Derek if he ever thought about therapy, Derek had tensed, unable to speak, and the subject had been dropped. But a couple of days after that, Derek had looked up the number to the local counseling center, and had his first therapy session. It had been hard, and left Derek raw afterwards. But he knew it had helped and when he had gotten home, Stiles had opened his arms, and the two had held each other for the rest of the afternoon. From then on, it was easier for Derek to open up, to talk about what had happened to him in the past. So there was no regret on his part for starting therapy. “It is going well. I’m glad I started to go.”

“I probably should have done more, talked to someone, after I decided drinking was a good idea.” The Sheriff murmured before he shook his head and smiled again. “We all learn from past mistakes, don’t we? What matters is the work we put in towards our future.”

“Yes.” Derek agreed, reaching his hand into one of the deep pockets of his jeans, touching the small jewelry box there. Working towards his future with Stiles was something Derek was very much enjoying planning. 

“I’m proud of you both.” The Sheriff said as he began to grill the food they had brought out, capturing Derek’s attention again. “Being proud of my son is an honor any father can say but I’m proud of you too, Derek. You’ve come a long way and I couldn’t more proud or more grateful for your presence in Stiles’ life and mine.”

Derek felt his eyes water. “Shit.” He said and surprised both himself and the Sheriff by pulling the Sheriff close for a hard hug.

“Damn, what did I miss?” Stiles asked as he walked over with an exuberant puppy at his heels. Stiles’ dad and Derek were hugging hard and Stiles had to wonder just what kind of conversation they had. 

Derek pulled away with a watery laugh. “See what you miss playing with puppies?”

“He needs his exercise!” Stiles argued before he smiled as Derek leaned over to kiss him. “Are you finally cooking, Pops? I’m starving.”

“I sure am. I bought lots of fatty meat to clog all of our arteries.”

Stiles rolled his eyes. “Oh hardy har har, very funny. Your health is a serious matter I’ll have you know.”

The Sheriff grinned before pulling Stiles in for a hug. “I’m so proud of you, Stiles; so damn proud.”


End file.
